'Glee' Season Finale: Finn Made A Big Mistake With Rachel

Warning: Stop reading if you don’t want to know what happened on the season finale of ‘Glee’!

It’s been 16 hours since Fox aired the third season finale of Glee, and I’m still not totally sure how I’m supposed to feel about the way things ended between Rachel (Lea Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith). The episode was full of insanity — please don’t get me started on Mercedes’ (Amber Riley) recording contract — but the last 10 minutes, anchored by the demise of “Finchel,” are what all the Gleeks will be talking about for the rest of the summer.

For the past three years, Finn and Rachel have fought tooth-and-nail to keep their relationship and their dreams alive — so why did last night’s episode end with a crushing breakup? It certainly wasn’t Rachel’s choice, as she was willing to defer from school just so she and Finn could be together. But he wasn’t having any of that. “I’m sure you’re something special, that this is just the beginning for you,” he told her before throwing her onto a train to New York City. “But to get there, you have to have these experiences on your own.”

Viewers are used to seeing Rachel cry on a weekly basis — sometimes multiple times a week — but the tears she shed as Finn told her they needed to go their separate ways were heartbreaking. Saying goodbye to McKinley High’s graduating seniors was hard enough without the added emotional stress of a breakup. Rachel launched into a powerful rendition of Room For Two‘s “Roots Before Branches,” but while the song was meant to be inspirational, I couldn’t help but find it totally depressing.

It was the soundtrack to the death of “Finchel.”

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it was the right time for Finn and Rachel to split. After all, HollywoodLife.com conducted a poll of the 25 hottest TV couples from the past season, and poor “Finchel” didn’t even crack the top 10!

So, Gleeks, how do you feel about Rachel and Finn’s breakup? Do you think it needed to happen, or do you feel cheated? Vote below, then hit up the comments section with your general reactions to the finale.